Corn-sheller.



I Patented Nov. 2|, I899.

a. BERRY.

BORN SHELLER.

(Application filed Fab; 21, 1898 (No Model.)

TNE Npnms versus 09., PNOTOLITNOHVIAQNINGTOR'. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IRA G. BERRY, OF ROCK FALLS, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE KEYSTONE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CORN-SHELLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,698, dated November 21, 1899.

Application filed February 21, 1898.; Serial No. 671 ,207. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, IRA G. BERRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rock Falls, in the county of Whiteside, in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Oorn-Shellers, of which I the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My improvements relate to corn-shellersof a familiar style, examples of which may be found illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States No. 522,669, granted July 10, 1894, to George W. Packer, and'in a number of prior patents referred to therein. Reference may be had to these patents for a more detailed description of the general construction and operation of the machine than will be found necessary here to an explanation of my present invention.

The novelty of my invention will be hereinafter set forth, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of part of a corn-sheller, showing one set of shelling devices and illustrating my present improvements. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail perspective view of the two-part hinged concave section, and Fig. 3 an enlarged cross-sectional detail of the bottom of one of the feed troughs or chutes and the chain traveling therein.

The same letters of reference are used to indicate identical parts in all the views.

A represents the main frame and easing of the machine, having at its under side a discharge-opening B for the shelled corn and at its forward side the main feed trough or hopper O, which is provided at its bottom with a series of longitudinal troughs or feedchutes 0, one for each set of shelling devices, as usual. Traveling in the bottom of each of the feed-troughs O is an endless feedchain D, which at its upper rear end passes around a sprocket-wheel upon a rotary shaft E and atits lower rear end around a sprocketwheelupon another shaft. tNotshown.) Each of the sprocket-wheels upon the shaft E is located between two outwardly-flaring wheels or disks F, provided with radial ribs and fast upon the shaft E, each pair of wheels forming a rotating continuation of the sides of one of the feed-troughs O, by means of which the ears carried upward and rearward along said troughs by the chains D are guided from the troughs and delivered to the shelling devices.

G is the rotating picker-Wheel of one set of shelling devices, and H the picker-shaft. Lo-

cated beneath the shaft H is the member commonly termed the concave. or concave section of the shelling device. It forms the bottom of the throat or passage through which .the ear of corn is forced, while the shaft H forms the top of such passage and the picker- Wheel G the left-hand wall thereof, the righthand Wall thereof being formed by a fixed wall or partition of the frame of the machine, the View in Fig. 1 being taken just beyond or to the left of such fixed partition. It is to this hinged bottom of the shelling-passage that the first feature of my invention relates. As shown in Fig. 2, this element is in the present instance formed of two members I and I. The member I is hinged at its upper forward end to the side wall of the shelling chamber or passage at a, while pivoted to its lower rear end at b is the upper end of a curved rod J, which extends downward and forward through the inclined wall K of the casing. The extreme forward end of the rod J passes through a fixed cross-piece L, and in rear of said cross-piece is surrounded by a coiled spring M, which is'confined between the cross-piece L at its forward end and an adjusting-nut- N upon the rod J at its rear end, as shown and described in detail in the patent before mentioned. The pressure of the spring M against the nut N presses the rod J upward and rearward and yieldingly holds the rear end of the member I in the normal position to which it may be adjusted, but permits it to be forced downward by the passage of the ears of corn between it and the pickershaft H, as hereinafter described. The rear end of the member I is shaped to form aguiderib e, concentric to the pivot a of the member, which rib fits in a notch in a lug f, projecting from the fixed side wall of the shelling-passage and serves to guide the rear. end of the member in its vertical movements and prevent lateral play thereof, as explained in the patent before mentioned. Hinged to the member I atthe upper side of its rear end at c isthe. upper member I of the concave-'de v vice. The forward end of this member I has pivotedtoits underside at d the upper end of a rod 0, which passes downward through the member I and has'a pinpassed through its extreme lower end beneath the member I,"

, A coiled spring P, surroundin-g the rod Obe tween the members I and I, presses the for-. ward end of the member I upward and yieldingly holds it in its normal upper position. The upper surfaceot' the member I is serrated" diagonally, as usual, to engage the grains of corn upon theear andffacilitate the shelling.- The forwardendof the member I is guided vertically on aribg, formed upon the memfore referred to, and in the. machines built under and in accordance withsaid patent, the concaveconsisted of a single member hinged at its upper forward end at w and yieldingly' .held in its normal upper position by the ber-LI. V In the Packeripatent, No. 522,669, heretospiingpressed rodJ and adjusted bymeans ofthe' nut N upon said rod, the. upper sub face of' such single member being serrated and occupying substantially the-position of the member I in the present instance. The

objection to this construction was that when. one part of the member was moved by the forcing of an ear of corn between-it and the. picker-shaft above it the entire member was necessarily swung downward. uponits pivot a,.the result of which was that if a large ear oftcorn immediately followed a small car. in

passing through the shelling devices the front end of the large ear asit was forced between, theiuppersurface of the concave and under I surface of the picker-shaft at the forward end of the entrance to the passage betweenthose I two members would swing the concave so far downward as to entirely-release the smaller earof'corn in front of it before the shelling of such'smaller ear was completed, and thus .it would happen that partially-unshelled ears of corn would pass through the machine and The be delivered therefromwith the cobs.

. construction of the concavein-two members I and I, hinged together at one end and pressed apart by a spring at the other, as above de scribed, completelyovercomes the objection to the former construction above explained and insures the complete and perfect shelling of all the ears of corn, regardless of their relative size andthe order in which they pass through the shelling devices. 'As' the front end of a large ear of corn enters the passage between, the picker shaft H and the forward endrof the concave section I it will simply;

press down the forward end of the'sectionl against theresistance of the spring P and I ,will not press. down the rear end of the section' I against the resistance ofthe spring M "until it reaches the space between the rear end; of such section and the picker-shaft H, so that if theear in front of it be asmaller one it will not be released by the rear'end' the ooh. I 7

' Thesecond feature of my invention relates tova construction and arrangement for insurbfithesedtioh. I and the picker-shaftuut'il its grain-s have been completely removed from ing the delivery of the earsof corn by the feeding devices to'thesh elling devices in more regular order than heretofore. 'The endless feed-chains D have heretofore usually 7 traveled over and entirely above the bottoms of the feed-troughs O, with the resultthat the entire chain was exposed vto the ears of corn in such troughs. The result of this was 7 that the ears of corn would be carried upward to theshelling devices not only by contact of thechain-teeth D with their ends,as intended,

- but also by the links of g the chain between .(snch teeth. Owing.tothisfactftwo ears of g'co'rn would be frequently carried up -in-"the same trough side by side'orthe earsadvanced "in other irregular order instead'of in a single line, and inasmuch as they can. enter the shelling devices properly only in singleline gc'rowdingand choking of some of theiears sometimes occurred at the entrance to the I have overcome thisidiflishelling devices. culty by locating the feed-chain- .pro'pergiem tirely below the bottonrof the feed-trough and providing the latter'with a narrow'lom gitudinalslot j ust wide enough to permitthei chain, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. 'Underthis arrangement there is nothing in the feedtrou'gh to engage the ears of corn excepting the upper ends of the teethor projectionsD" upon thechain, and these projections are ofsuch size that they cannot engage more than one ear of corn at a time. The resultis that no matter how nearly filled the. main hopper or trough C may be with ears of corn each cha'in D will carry upward onlya'single row of'ears in its subtrough O", and thus deliver the ears to the separate passagesof the shelling' devices' in single rows. Having thus fully described my invention, Iclaim'-.-

1. In a corn-sheller, the herein-described concave section, composed of the lower member I p-ivotally supported at its forward end and yieldingly supported at itsjrear end, the upper member I'hinged to the 'lower memher I near its rear end, and aspring P interposed'between the members Iand I, for the purpose set forth. I w f 2. In a corn-sheller, the herein-described concave section, composed of the-lower:mem-

ber I pivotally supported at'its forward end, the-upper member I hinged to the lower memher I near its rear end, therod 0 connected at its upper end to the forward'end of the member I and guided at i-tslower end by the member I, and the coiled spring? surround ing the rod 0 between the members .I and I,

for. the purpose described.. ,..3.In a. corn-sheller, the concave section composed of they pivoted member I, the membet I hinged to the member I, and the spring passage of the teeth D, projecting: from the ICC IIO

10 ing the forward end of said second member,

substantially as described.

5. In a corn-sheller, the combination of a lower concave member, means for yieldingly supporting its rear end, an upper member pivoted to the lower member at its rear, a

spring interposed between said members for yieldingiy supporting the forward end of the upper member, and guiding means for the forward end of said upper member, substantially as described.

IRA G. BERRY.

Vito esses:

F. M. TRACY, W. E. Lone. 

